CBE Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3422 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify competency-based education. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 21, 2019 Mr. GROTHMAN (for himself, Mr. STEIL, and Mr. GALLAGHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify competency-based education. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Competency-Based 4 Education Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘CBE Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. REGULATORY RELIEF. 6 (a) REPEAL.— 7 (1) DEFINITION OF CREDIT HOUR.—The defini- 8 tion of the term ‘‘credit hour’’ in section 600.2 of 9 title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, as added by 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Jul 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3422 IH the final regulations published by the Department of 1 Education in the Federal Register on October 29, 2 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66946). 3 (2) EFFECT OF REPEAL.—To the extent that 4 regulations repealed by paragraph (1) amended reg- 5 ulations that were in effect on June 30, 2011, the 6 provisions of the regulations that were in effect on 7 June 30, 2011, and were so amended are restored 8 and revived as if the regulations repealed by such 9 subparagraph had not taken effect. 10 (b) CREDIT HOUR.—The Secretary of Education 11 shall not, on or after the date of enactment of this Act, 12 promulgate or enforce any regulation or rule with respect 13 to the definition of the term ‘‘credit hour’’ for any purpose 14 under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 15 et seq.). 16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 17 Section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 18 U.S.C. 1003) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(25) COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION; COM- 21 PETENCY-BASED EDUCATION PROGRAM.— 22 ‘‘(A) COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION.— 23 Except as otherwise provided, the term ‘com- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3422 IH petency-based education’ means education 1 that— 2 ‘‘(i) measures academic progress and 3 attainment— 4 ‘‘(I) by direct assessment of a 5 student’s level of mastery of com- 6 petencies; 7 ‘‘(II) by expressing a student’s 8 level of mastery of competencies in 9 terms of equivalent credit or clock 10 hours; or 11 ‘‘(III) by a combination of the 12 methods described in subclauses (I) or 13 (II) and credit or clock hours; and 14 ‘‘(ii) provides the educational content, 15 activities, and resources, including sub- 16 stantive instructional interaction, including 17 by faculty, and regular support by the in- 18 stitution, necessary to enable students to 19 learn or develop what is required to dem- 20 onstrate and attain mastery of such com- 21 petencies, as assessed by the accrediting 22 agency or association of the institution of 23 higher education. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3422 IH ‘‘(B) COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION 1 PROGRAM.—Except as otherwise provided, the 2 term ‘competency-based education program’ 3 means a postsecondary program offered by an 4 institution of higher education that— 5 ‘‘(i) provides competency-based edu- 6 cation, which upon a student’s demonstra- 7 tion or mastery of a set of competencies 8 identified and required by the institution, 9 leads to or results in the award of a certifi- 10 cate, degree, or other recognized edu- 11 cational credential; 12 ‘‘(ii) ensures title IV funds may be 13 used only for learning that results from in- 14 struction provided, or overseen, by the in- 15 stitution, not for the portion of the pro- 16 gram of which the student has dem- 17 onstrated mastery prior to enrollment in 18 the program or tests of learning that are 19 not associated with educational activities 20 overseen by the institution; and 21 ‘‘(iii) is organized in such a manner 22 that an institution can determine, based on 23 the method of measurement selected by the 24 institution under subparagraph (A)(i), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3422 IH what constitutes a full-time, three-quarter 1 time, half-time, and less than half-time 2 workload for the purposes of awarding and 3 administering assistance under title IV of 4 this Act, or assistance provided under an- 5 other provision of Federal law to attend an 6 institution of higher education. 7 ‘‘(C) COMPETENCY DEFINED.—In this 8 paragraph, the term ‘competency’ means the 9 knowledge, skill, or ability demonstrated by a 10 student in a subject area.’’. 11 SEC. 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO STUDENT AS- 12 SISTANCE. 13 (a) DEFINITIONS OF ACADEMIC YEAR AND ELIGIBLE 14 PROGRAM.—Section 481 of the Higher Education Act of 15 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088) is amended— 16 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(3)(A) For the purpose of a competency-based edu- 19 cation program the term ‘academic year’ shall be the pub- 20 lished measured period established by the institution of 21 higher education that is necessary for a student with a 22 normal full-time workload for the course of study the stu- 23 dent is pursuing (as measured using the value of com- 24 petencies or sets of competencies required by such institu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3422 IH tion and approved by such institution’s accrediting agency 1 or association) to earn— 2 ‘‘(i) one-quarter of a bachelor’s degree; 3 ‘‘(ii) one-half of an associate’s degree; or 4 ‘‘(iii) with respect to a non-degree or graduate 5 program, the equivalent of a period described in 6 clause (i) or (ii). 7 ‘‘(B)(i) A competency-based education program that 8 is not a term-based program may be treated as a term- 9 based program for purposes of establishing payment peri- 10 ods for disbursement of loans and grants under this title 11 if— 12 ‘‘(I) the institution of higher education that of- 13 fers such program charges a flat subscription fee for 14 access to instruction during a period determined by 15 the institution; and 16 ‘‘(II) the institution is able to determine the 17 competencies a student is expected to demonstrate 18 for such subscription period. 19 ‘‘(ii) Clause (i) shall apply even in a case in which 20 instruction or other work with respect to a competency 21 that is expected to be attributable to a subscription period 22 begins prior to such subscription period. 23 ‘‘(iii) In a case in which a competency-based edu- 24 cation program offered by an institution of higher edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3422 IH cation is treated as a term-based program under clause 1 (i), the institution shall review the academic progress of 2 each student enrolled in such program in accordance with 3 section 484(c), except that such review shall occur at the 4 end of each payment period.’’; and 5 (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (4) 6 and inserting the following: 7 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this title, the term ‘eligible pro- 8 gram’ includes a competency-based program that— 9 ‘‘(A) has been evaluated and approved by an ac- 10 crediting agency or association that— 11 ‘‘(i) is recognized by the Secretary under 12 subpart 2 of part H; and 13 ‘‘(ii) has evaluation of competency-based 14 education programs within the scope of its rec- 15 ognition in accordance with section 16 496(a)(4)(C); or 17 ‘‘(B) as of the day before the date of enactment 18 of the CBE Act of 2019, met the requirements of 19 a direct assessment program under section 20 481(b)(4) (as such section was in effect on the day 21 before such date of enactment).’’. 22 (b) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.—Section 484 of the 23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is 24 amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3422 IH (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(6) For purposes of competency-based education, in 3 order to be eligible to receive any loan under this title for 4 an award year, a student may be enrolled in coursework 5 attributable only to 2 academic years within the award 6 year.’’; and 7 (2) in subsection (c)— 8 (A) in paragraph (1)— 9 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 10 (I) by striking ‘‘the student has a 11 cumulative’’ and inserting the fol- 12 lowing: ‘‘the student has—’’ 13 ‘‘(i) a cumulative;’’; 14 (II) by striking ‘‘the second’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘each’’; 16 (III) by striking the period at the 17 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 18 (IV) by adding at the end the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(ii) for the purposes of competency-based 21 programs, a non-grade equivalent demonstra- 22 tion of academic standing consistent with the 23 requirements for graduation, as determined by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3422 IH the institution, at the end of each such aca- 1 demic year; and’’; and 2 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(C) the student maintains a pace in his or her 5 educational program that— 6 ‘‘(i) ensures that the student completes the 7 program within the maximum timeframe; and 8 ‘‘(ii) is measured by a method determined 9 by the institution which may be based on credit 10 hours, clock hours, or competencies com- 11 pleted.’’; 12 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘grading 13 period’’ and inserting ‘‘evaluation period’’; and 14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘max- 16 imum timeframe’ means— 17 ‘‘(A) with respect to an undergraduate program 18 measured in credit hours, a period that is no longer 19 than 150 percent of the published length of the edu- 20 cational program, as measured in credit hours; 21 ‘‘(B) with respect to an undergraduate program 22 measured in competencies, a period that is no longer 23 than 150 percent of the published length of the edu- 24 cational program, as measured in competencies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3422 IH ‘‘(C) with respect to an undergraduate program 1 measured in clock hours, a period that is no longer 2 than 150 percent of the published length of the edu- 3 cational program, as measured by the cumulative 4 number of clock hours the student is required to 5 complete and expressed in calendar time; and 6 ‘‘(D) with respect to a graduate program, a pe- 7 riod defined by the institution that is based on the 8 length of the educational program.’’. 9 (c) RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR AS- 10 SOCIATION.—Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended— 12 (1) in subsection (a)(4)— 13 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 15 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in- 16 serting the following: 17 ‘‘(B) such agency or association demonstrates 18 the ability to review, evaluate, and assess the quality 19 of any instruction delivery model or method such 20 agency or association has or seeks to include within 21 its scope of recognition, without giving preference to 22 or differentially treating a particular instruction de- 23 livery model or method offered by an institution of 24 higher education or program except that, in a case 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3422 IH in which the instruction delivery model allows for the 1 separation of the student from the instructor— 2 ‘‘(i) the agency or association requires the 3 institution to have processes through which the 4 institution establishes that the student who reg- 5 isters in a course or program is the same stu- 6 dent who participates in, including, to the ex- 7 tent practicable, testing or other assessment, 8 and completes the program and receives the 9 academic credit; and 10 ‘‘(ii) the agency or association requires 11 that any process used by an institution to com- 12 ply with the requirement under clause (i) does 13 not infringe upon student privacy and is imple- 14 mented in a manner that is minimally burden- 15 some to the student; and 16 ‘‘(C) if such an agency or association evaluates 17 or assesses the quality of competency-based edu- 18 cation programs, the agency’s or association’s eval- 19 uation or assessment— 20 ‘‘(i) shall address effectively the quality of 21 an institution’s competency-based education 22 programs as set forth in paragraph (5), except 23 that the agency or association is not required to 24 have separate standards, procedures, or policies 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH H3422 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3422 IH for the evaluation of competency-based edu- 1 cation; 2 ‘‘(ii) shall establish whether an institution 3 has demonstrated that its program satisfies the 4 definitions in section 103(25); and 5 ‘‘(iii) shall establish whether an institution 6 has demonstrated that it has defined an aca- 7 demic year for a competency-based program in 8 accordance with section 481(a)(3).’’; 9 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘or com- 10 petency-based education’’ after ‘‘distance education’’; 11 (3) in subsection (n)(3), by inserting ‘‘, or com- 12 petency-based education programs,’’ after each oc- 13 currence of ‘‘distance education courses or pro- 14 grams’’; and 15 (4) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(r) WAIVER.—The Secretary shall establish a proc- 17 ess through which an agency or association may seek to 18 have a requirement of this subpart waived, if such agency 19 or association— 20 ‘‘(1) demonstrates that such waiver is necessary 21 to enable an institution of higher education or pro- 22 gram accredited by the agency or association to im- 23 plement innovative practices intended to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3422.IH [Text truncated for display. 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